Associate Director of Real Estate

About Kirkland & Ellis

At Kirkland & Ellis, we are united in our ambition and drive to move forward. We share core values that help us achieve excellence: collaboration, talent empowerment, service, inclusion, respect and gratitude. Our people are our greatest asset, and we invest in the brightest talent and encourage a diversity of perspectives and strengths to create dynamic teams that operate at the pinnacle of their field. Our talented professionals show up every day knowing they will engage in meaningful work, continuous learning and professional development.
 
As one of the world’s leading law firms, we serve a broad range of clients with market-leading practices in private equity, M&A and other complex corporate transactions; investment fund formation and alternative asset management; restructurings; high-stakes commercial and intellectual property litigation; and government, regulatory and internal investigations. We handle the most complicated and sophisticated legal matters because we don’t just meet industry standards, we create them. We bring innovation and entrepreneurialism to every engagement and, as a result, have long-standing client relationships with leading global corporations and financial sponsors. With 6,500 employees (including 3,500 lawyers) operating from 20 offices across the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, we are one of the largest law firms in the world and a top financial performer.

Essential Job Functions

The Associate Director, Real Estate position is a business partner role, responsible for the facilitation of Real Estate design and construction projects; as well as other special projects within real estate. This position reports to the Sr. Director, Firmwide Real Estate and Workplace Strategy and will work closely with personnel from offices throughout the Kirkland portfolio.  This role also works in close collaboration with with functional area leaders as it relates to the design of the overall workplace and individual workspaces.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS (This list is not exhaustive and may be supplemented and changed as necessary.)

• Lead with a business mindset – make decisions and influence consensus that supports the firm’s business objectives and Real Estate’s fiscal responsibility
• Ability to lead multiple projects and teams while maintaining a positive and collaborative work environment
• Ability to lead and achieve goals of various leaders, from firmwide to geographic leaders within project parameters
• Primarily responsible for the facilitation of Real Estate design and construction projects, leveraging firmwide best practices and strategy
• Drive and lead construction projects by identifying and managing external consultants, and the vendor selection
• Develop project scope, determine required external resources, budget and timeline for all real estate capital projects and execute projects accordingly
• Facilitate and work with functional groups in order to coordinate the integration of workplace design strategy and standards into Real Estate projects, resulting in enhanced engagement with the Firm’s various employee groups and an integrated workplace for end users
• Support  the Firmwide Sr. Director Real Estate and Workplace Strategy with budget planning for all real estate capital projects
• Lead the coordination all internal resources, including Procurement, Finance, Security, Guest Operations, Culinary, Facilities/Operations, IT and AV
• Introduce and implement Firm’s Workplace Playbook on the project to execute FW standards and lessons learned – including, but not exclusive to, design process, construction quality, furniture and technology standards

• Maintain consistency throughout the portfolio and, while pricing varies from market to market, adhere to capital budget expectations
• Develop and/or lead change management efforts across all phases of projects and initiatives to drive the Firm’s culture of continuous improvement.

Qualifications & Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree and a minimum of 10 years of experience in Corporate Real Estate portfolio-related experience required; knowledge of the lifecycle of an office project is necessary
• Familiarity with reading and interpreting corporate leases
• Demonstrated ability and willingness to perform multi-functional tasks and deal effectively with a wide range of individuals in a “matrix” management organization structure, including functional and geographic leaders
• Ability to comprehend, analyze, and interpret complex documents and excellent problem solving skills; requires advanced analytical skills
• Actively measures success by providing on time, on budget project delivery that meets business requirements and objectives
• Ability to be flexible and pivot between processes nimbly while initiating process improvements when applicable
• Self-motivated team player with a strong work ethic who takes ownership of position
• Excellent interpersonal and communications skills, both written and verbal
• Excellent administrative, organizational and time management skills
• Willingness for travel
• Proven change management skills

Technologies/Software

• High proficiency in MS Office Suite
• High proficiency in data analysis

WORK ENVIRONMENT

This job operates in a professional office environment.

How to Apply

Thank you for your interest in Kirkland & Ellis LLP.  To complete an application and submit your resume, please click "Apply Now."

Equal Employment Opportunity

All employment decisions, including the recruiting, hiring, placement, training availability, promotion, compensation, evaluation, disciplinary actions, and termination of employment (if necessary) are made without regard to the employee’s race, color, creed, religion, sex, pregnancy or childbirth, personal appearance, family responsibilities, sexual orientation or preference, gender identity, political affiliation, source of income, place of residence, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, age, marital status, military veteran status, unfavorable discharge from military service, physical or mental disability, or on any other basis prohibited by applicable law.

Closing Statement

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